Recording artist Matt Boyd (The Four) and Actor Chrissy Metz (This is Us) recently released a moving version of Scott Alan’s “Anything Worth Holding On To”. Talented songwriter Scott wrote this song after multiple personal trials that left him fighting depression and finding a way to put his feelings into words.
“When the life you had planned / Slowly slips through your hands / When it feels like you just slept through all the best years of your life / When the heart's beyond repair / When you wake and no one’s there / When your home consists of only you / Is there anything worth holding on to?”
Depression and anxiety are becoming more openly discussed with the use of social media. Those afflicted are finding a way to connect with others who have gone through and survived similar experiences. Scott beautifully captured his experience and realized it may resonate with others to serve as healing. The song is so pure in expression and the simple but graceful piano composition supports the intense theme of hope breaking through darkness.
“When you're so far from home / When you've lost all signs of hope / When you're searching for salvation / But it feels so far away… / Cause I will still be holding on / to anything worth holding on to “
These emotional lyrics sung so passionately by Matt Boyd and Chrissy Metz is so deeply touching. It’s clear watching them sing that they both connected with the lyrics. This song is quickly becoming a way for those who are struggling to connect and explain their situation to others who may have not experienced depression themselves. It’s amazing how God can take such a difficult situation in one person’s life and use it as a healing tool for many others!
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God” (Psalm 40:1-3)
Musical duo, ‘Jackopierce’ returns with their song ‘Vineyard’. Jack O’Neill and Cary Pierce started out in music together in the 80s, but over time the “work” of music began pushing them apart. After a several year hiatus, the friends are together again writing deep lyrics formed from their life experiences. It’s their maturity that has made the pair’s writing and performing style more popular than ever.
The simplistic recording is part of the popular social media experiment entitled ‘Living Room Sessions’. The idea is for musicians to share their music in a more intimate setting than the stage. As with many songs, sometimes just hearing the musicians sing them simply from the heart without staged instrumentation is the most moving. The Jackopierce team gathered in a Nashville Airbnb to flawlessly strum out their folksy tune. ‘Vineyard’ tells a flashback to a life decision that may or may not have altered one man’s path.
There is something truly whimsical in feel of ‘Vineyard’ and makes us think back to our younger days. Remember the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books where the reader picks their ending based on choices through the story? This melodic tune seems to discuss the importance of the rat-race, life choices, and the possibility that everything worked for could disappear in a blink.
“I'm leaving more behind than I care to talk about, Just more pain than this heart and hands can use, As this big world's always spinning, All that I thought I was winning, I never thought I'd lose
Sometimes life requires a “reset” of sorts, in those moment it’s important to remember that God should be the center of our lives. Our decisions should be formed with the opportunity to use our talents wisely for Him. It’s a gentle reminder that it’s okay to shift our path, to respond to change with a step forward or even sideways to see where life takes us!
Nicholas Kenter and Terrill Smith used to be complete strangers. But after July 18, that forever changed.
Nicholas was riding down the street on his motorcycle in Omaha, Nebraska when disaster struck. A driver of a van hit him and the sudden impact sent Nicholas flying at least 130 feet.
Somewhere in the process, Nicholas lost part of his ankle. He lay in the road, badly injured and in severe pain. But he wasn’t alone for long!
Terrill Smith was driving down the road, too. She was taking her kids to the pool. And the route took her right through the same intersection where Nicholas was hit.
Terrill first saw Nicholas’ mangled motorcycle. Further up, she saw his body on the ground and just knew she had to stop.
“I was, like,’Stop the car,’ and I jumped out of the car,” she recalled.
Terrill appeared by Nicholas’ side and immediately started giving him aid. She tied a T-shirt around his right ankle and applied pressure until rescue crews arrived. All the while, she spoke to Nicholas, trying to keep him calm.
Not everyone would pull over for a complete stranger. But God put Terrill in the right place at the right time to help Nicholas. For her, she was just repaying a kindness that was done for her.
In 1988, when Terrill was only 9 years old, a car hit her. A stranger jumped in to help, much in the same way. And if it hadn’t been for the man’s heroic actions, Terrill would have lost her leg.
So, when she came upon Nicholas’ wreck, she knew it was no accident.
“No way that it was a mistake for me to be there when I was there exactly and to help you the same way that I got helped is really odd, actually,” Terrill told Nicholas later.
When rescue crews whisked Nicholas away to the hospital, he had no idea who his mysterious angel was. But he was desperate to thank her.
“I owe her my life,” he said. “She saved my life. I’m very thankful for it.”
Nicholas says Terrill’s actions saved both his ankle and his life. He believes he survived
Singer / Songwriter Dan Bremnes recently launched into a new project. Together with a small video team, he traveled around the world to shoot his latest song “Wherever I Go”. The piece was filmed in seven different countries over a period of eight days. What a whirlwind trip!
Dan worked with the group Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Australia years ago. It was during this time of service God began to shape the focus of Dan’s talents. “While I was there, something happened in my life, and God started working on my heart,” Bremnes shares. “I started thinking about making music that was really intentional about reaching people on a spiritual level. I wanted to come right out and speak about God and my relationship with Him.”
As Dan began to focus his heart and writing on worship, he received devastating news that his mother had been killed in a car accident. The journey through that trauma and pain brought Dan to a place of realization that he was not alone. God was walking the path with him and supporting him. Fittingly, Bremnes has channeled those feelings of desperation and hope into his music as a way to encourage others.
“Wherever I go” is no exception. This new song has a catchy beat and boasts encouragement in the chorus. The lyrics are a challenge to remember that God is still there and you are not alone.
“Wherever I go, Oh, You're gonna find me there / Wherever I go / Oh, You're right beside me there / In the rising flame / Even in the pouring rain / Even in the flood, I'm safe / Oh, oh, oh, oh / You go wherever I go”
Dan’s lyrics focus on the inability to be lost to God no matter the location or the time of trouble. The video takes the viewer on a journey through several well-known locations: Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt; the Great Wall of China; the Taj Mahal in India; Petra in Jordan; the Colosseum in Rome; the glaciers in Iceland; and Burj Khalifa in Dubai. There is something truly awe-inspiring to think that in all of those diverse,
The devastation in the wake of Hurricane Florence has been overwhelming. It was expected that there would be flooding, but no one truly knew how bad the after flooding would be. Some individuals had to make the hard decisions to leave their homes.
Many people had to make the gut-wrenching decision to leave without their animals due to circumstance. That was the case when this good samaritan helped to rescue this drowning cow.
It’s been amazing to see how many rescuers are stepping in to help. These individuals aren’t all trained in rescue, but are giving of their time and resources completely from the goodness of their heart.
As more stories like this one of cows stranded in North Carolina come in, we are truly moved by the love and kindness in others and that there IS still good in the world!
This is one such story of an unexpected rescue. Mike Stura from Skylands Animal Sanctuary was in North Carolina with his boat hoping to rescue whatever animals he could find.
Mike described his surreal experience as a boat rescue in North Carolina: “...it was very strange. We’re boating down streets, basically. You drive up and there’s like, a foot of signpost sticking out of the water.”
As he was looking to help, a local girl contacted him about cows floating around in the chest high water near a small barn. Sure enough as they came upon the barn, there were cows struggling to swim and keep their heads above water!
Unsure of the boat, two swam away from their rescuers, but one was able to be caught. Mike drove that one cow to his own pasture nearly 600 miles away. Now the cow named “Red” is resting comfortably at her rescuers home and has a new friend “Babe”.
Interestingly enough, Babe was rescued the previous year during Hurricane Harvey! Perhaps they are able to share their survival connection with each other!
God’s creatures truly are awesome and what a blessing that Mike was able to help in this situation!
Known for his roles in “The Dukes Of Hazzard” and “Smallville”, John Schneider is no stranger to live television. In fact, at aged 58, he’s the oldest of this year’s Dancing With The Stars celebrities. When he was first approached by DWTS, several years prior, he turned the opportunity down. This television talent was nervous that his dancing skills weren’t going to be good enough. Since then, he’s put his fears behind him and realized that live TV is his strength.
"I have no fear of live television because I've done it for 40 years. In fact, live television makes me bigger. … I'm just a big ham."
Coming back to his roots in music, John and dance partner Emma, skillfully danced their way into the hearts of America with a foxtrot to none other than the “theme from Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol’ Boys)”. When the dancing began, of course, it was John that gave his signature “Yeee-Haw”. Fittingly, John (aka “Bo Duke”) then slid across the hood of a Dodge Charger before beginning his smooth country boy moves on the dance floor!
Dressed in head-to-toe denim, the couple showed that John not only plans to dance but has a little athleticism hiding in his back pocket! While it may not have been the most technically proficient of all the competitor’s dances, the most important word Jon and Emma could hear was “safe”!
They are through to the next round and looking to gain some more fans in the future!
Video prayer to support those struggling with Addictions of all types. By Faith release your untapped prayer power. The prayers of the righteous are effective and powerful to take down Addictions' strongholds.
Singer Niall Horan sings “Finally Free” from the new animated film “Smallfoot”. The vocal and guitar-heavy song perfectly capture the importance of having a good friend by your side and not being afraid of the unknown.
“When you're right here beside me,
There's nothing else I need,
Your eyes keep me reminded,
That nothing's out of reach,
When you're with me,
It feels like I'm finally free,
Feels like I'm finally free”
The fanciful movie takes the idea of “Bigfoot” and turns it around. The storyline follows a young Yeti who has lived his life believing that humans were not real. One day, that myth is shattered when he stumbles across the unimaginable – a “smallfoot”. When this Yeti tries to share his great find with the rest of the Yeti community it brings chaos to their town.
The song “Finally Free” serves an an encouraging anthem of perseverance, following your heart, and deep friendship. There is no doubt that the song alone will become wildly popular with it’s catchy tune and Niall’s powerful voice.
Addressing the fears of the first step into the unknown, something we have all battled at some point, the lyrics offer a voice to those concerns that we all face. If we don’t take a leap of faith, how will we learn what’s out “there”?
“Standing here on my own,
Yeah, the first step's the hardest
when you're walking into the unknown,
It's been dark, and it's been cold,
Had my head in the clouds never knowing what lies down below”
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Passengers at Geneva Airport were recently treated to an unplanned musical performance. Performing a piece from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the members of the Geneva Chamber Orchestra decided to cheer up the airport. The group found themselves stranded at the airport due to a flight delay. Seeing that their wait would be a while, the musicians naturally took out their instruments. They took the unexpected time, waiting for their flight to Venice, to give the other waiting passengers an impromptu concert.
Violinist Fabrizio Von Arx led the musicians as they passionately played through the selected upbeat classical piece. With smiles and laughter, the musicians were pleasantly surprised at the passengers who stopped to watch them play. With haunting acoustics under a stairwell of the airport, the music flowed freely through the space. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of waiting in an airport, especially for a delayed flight, we think you will great appreciate this stairwell concert! Classical music has been proven to make the listener smarter, perhaps it also makes them calmer! We found this so soothing and would love to experience such a wonderful concert in such a stressful place as an airport!
The video was originally posted by Pascal Bitz, a photographer from Geneva. With the caption “This is what happens when classical musicians wait for a delayed flight at 10:00pm” Pascal shared the now viral video. We don’t think he expected the video to travel around the world as quickly as it has! What a blessing that he was there at the same time as this talented group of musicians and was able to film their mini-performance!
This Alabama high school is making headlines after announcing that there would no longer be prayer before the football game. Normally a Senior chaplain would take to the P.A. system before the game and lead the attendees in a short prayer. That is no longer allowed.
The change came with little warning at one of the most attended games - Homecoming. When the announcement came that there would be no prayer but rather a “time of silence” the students and families were surprised.
“We’re not gonna not pray before a game. It’s gotta happen” shared a Blount County cheerleader.
The students were confused, the pre-game prayer has been occurring for as long as anyone could remember. But that didn’t stop the attendees from having prayer - when the moment of silence came they began reciting “The Lord’s Prayer” in unison.
“I was kinda like confused, because we do it all the time,” said Kennedy Chastain, “ I feel like they would’ve told us sooner…”
Since that evening, parents and students have started their own actions to counter the removal of the prayer. They began passing out flyers in the parking lot with “The Lord’s Prayer” on them so that everyone could participate. Others have been seen carrying “In God we trust” signs. The football team members made their own statement by carrying signs onto the field before a game. Other supporters of the pre-game prayer have been wearing shirts printed with "We Believe".
“There’s no need to get angry. We have a voice and uh, we need to be proactive as Christians to do something about it. We don’t need to sit around and let it happen.” said Blount Co. schools parent, Nicholas Chapman.
For those parents and students in Blount County they are determined to be an example in politely refusing to back down from a prayer that they believe should be allowed. The removal of the prayer has actually resulted in a “revival” of sorts among the community as they joined together in determination to pray together before the games.
The National Anthem is one of the hardest songs that any singer can perform. But 7-year-old Malea Emma proved that she has what is takes to pull off this iconic song. Just watch as this sweet little girl steps onto the field and belts out these patriotic words.
'O say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming'
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming'
Malea performed the song before a soccer game between the LA Galaxy and the Seattle Sounders. Her rendition was so incredible that everyone started to take notice. Soon, social media was buzzing about this young girl with a very special voice.
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a LA Galaxy player from Sweden. He named Malea the ‘MVP of the game’ on Twitter after hearing her incredible cover of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ Tons of other fans agreed and they all shouted her praises.
I definitely think this is going to go down as one of the best renditions in this franchise’s history. I just cannot get over how much love, enthusiasm and pride she has in the exact moment. It’s obvious that little Malea has a ton of talent and she’s definitely got a passion for performing.
With a voice like that, I think we’ll be seeing more of this cutie in the future. I sure do wish I could’ve been there to witness this special National Anthem performance in person. Who else is with me?
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